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I always just assumed 'engineer' was an Americanization of the word 'programmer'/'developer'. Maybe that's just my British perspective. It's also down to my belief in some of the principles in the OP. I'd never heard 'software engineer' used outside of an academic discipline, until I got in to startups and listened to lots of US tech podcasts and read lots of US tech blogs.

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> I always just assumed 'engineer' was an Americanization of the word 'programmer'/'developer'.

It often is exactly that. I'm probably being too pedantic, but as a developer I don't allow myself to be called an engineer, though some companies have wanted me to. I'm not one, I don't have an engineering degree nor certification and I feel it cheapens the Engineering profession to allow that.

I guess I could be called a "scientist" since I do have a CS degree, but that just feels weird.

It implies a degree of rigour that I certainly don't have. I'm conscious of being just a punkass with an inflated job title.

Indeed. I do have an engineering degree and the certifications that follow, and I don't describe my day to day work as Engineering.

I'm a guy who programs computers and runs a little software business. No need to go adding silly titles to that (and if I did, I'd probably go with CEO anyway, since it's quicker to write.)

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